PARABLE OF THE SOWER- LAST PART

"And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold." Luke 8:8

Here, the seed fell on good soil. Soil which is neither hard, rocky,nor thorny. It is productive, soft and perfect to receive the seed deep and let it grow into a fruitful plant.

Let us see how Jesus explained this parable. In luke 8:15 he said,

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

So, people of God, here is the reason why some people bear the fruits of the word of God in their life while others don't. This is only because the heart is different. The good ground is the sincere heart, the one who is humble, and free from sin. It only absorbs the word of  God, let him grow fruitfully with care and prevent it from being uprooted by the evil.
The listerner having this kind of heart is the one who hear and practice the word of God, the one who have roots and resist temptations. He preserves what he sowed,and waters his seedling until it grows into an adult plant full of good fruits.
This person has a pure heart which makes of him a sanctified person; free from sin. Only the heart defines who a person is. If he is really a person of God, sanctified or a sinful one. Matthew 15:19 says:

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. 
 Here we are defining a sinful person who  have their sown along the hard path, in the rocks, and among the thorns.

But what defines a person who received it in the good ground? The good spiritual fruits he bears eventually...

But WHICH GOOD FRUITS?

• The fruits of REPENTANCE and REBIRTH 

Jesus said in John 12:24, 
"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone, but if it dies, then it bears much fruit."
while in 1 Corinthians 15:35-36, it is explained:
  But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
  
So, people of God, one of the good fruit is to die for this world, repent from all what you did wrong and reborn in Christ with a new life.
  

•   The fruits of RIGHTEOUSNESS

If we sow correctly the seed of the word of God in our life, we were promised in 2Corinthians 9:10:
 "God will increase the harvest of your righteousness"  in order for us to be  "filled with the fruit of righteousness" (Phillipians 1:11)

 This means that we must live in reconciliation and peace with God and the people around us. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (James 3:17-18). 
This person avoid fighting, quarelling and all fleshy desires against others. He lives in and for justice. He is right in his ways because he is in peace with himself, God and the people around him.

• The fruits of THE LOVE TO SAVE OTHERS

In matthew 9: 28, Jesus said to his disciples: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

And in John 4, 35-36 it is explained: 
 
You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!

This person brings others to Eternal Life.

• The fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT 

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galates 5, 22-23)

• The fruit of OUR WORDS

 From the fruit of his words a man receives benefit, but the treacherous crave violence. (Proverbs 13:2)

Matthew 12:33-37 gives us a clear explanation:

 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

So, good people, here are the fruits of the good and honest heart. But how to get such a heart?
The only way is to live in humilty and being sincere to yourself. First recognise that your heart is corrupted. Then, comes the step to change it and search your dependance on God, his help and his presence.

This is the way to get your place in the Kingdom of God. 

God bless you, Thash.

 

PARABLE OF THE SOWER- 3RD PART

Here comes the third type of path where the seed can be thrown. Let us see the result of having a heart similar to what we will explain.


Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. (Luke 8:7)

 At this point, the soil is neither hard nor storny, it is soft and productive.But, it is not pure because it contains several kinds of seeds. It is therefore a mixed vegetation in which the seed is mixed with thorny plants. These spines were probably not apparent when the farmer sowed. Over time, they have developed to invade the entire field. The seed had germinated but it was literally choked by the thorns which grew much stronger.

In verse 14, Jesus explained this parable:
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.

This reaction to the word is perhaps the saddest. Here the Word of God has reached its goal, the heart of man, but it is stifled before it can has its effect in the person life. Stifled by what? The worries of everyday life, its pleasures, career and material things. The things that affect our spiritual life and prevent the word of God to be manifested in our life. Maybe the spiritual life of the person is not completely extinguished, but it remains as it is. It doesn't mature nor bear the fruits that Jesus wants. And what does God do to every branch that doesn't bear fruits? 

John 15:2 and 6 tell us:
  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful (V 2)

If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. (V 6)

This shows us that those who do not bear the fruits are thrown into the fire and burned. So, people of God, you who listen to the word of God and let the pleasures of this world take upon you, do you want to be burnt into this fire?
 How many christians started well and later fell because of the traps of evil and the pleasures of this world and their flesh? What is the end of these people? Do you think they shall inherit the kingdom of God?

No....

Today, is the opportunity for you who are in this situation, to leave behind the greed for this world and do not let anything take over your spiritual life. 

God bless you, Thash.

PARABLE OF THE SOWER- 2ND PART

Today let us analyse the second type of path where the seed, that is the Word of God can be sown, and what is the result.

And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.( Luke 8:6)

The explanation that Jesus gave us for this part is in verse 13 of the same chapter:

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of  temptation fall away.

In this case, the soil is soft and moist. It is suitable for rapid germination. But unfortunately it lacks depth. There is only little soil found there. Growth of the seed is soon stopped by the rock that lies beneath. The first heat of the sun, it dries out because it has  no root, which should have provided water and minerals it needed.

This means that the listener's heart is sensible enough to hear and absorb the word of God. It germinates that is the person put what he hears into practice. But, because this person do not have a solid spiritual foundation and a true encounter with God, whenever tribulations and persecution come,and he is being scorched by the heat of the sun, he stops putting what he heard into practice. Instead he desists and fell.  He forgets what he heard only because the seed was sown and no roots were grown ; he believes only for a while, when everyting is good. When situations become tough, he discourages and abandons. The word of God withers in his heart.

He is the foolish builder. He builds his house on the sand. Matthew 7: 24-27 gives us the difference between the wise and the foolish builder ; and the result of how they construct their house that is their spiritual life:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

So, people of God, maybe you are the one who heard the predication and receive it with joy. But when persecutions come and the wind blows contrary to your way, you desist and fell into evil's trap. Maybe you are living with an illusion thinking that walking with Jesus is like walking through the flowery road. No, walking with Jesus is hard, this needs sacrifice. 
The truth is that your faith is emotional. You receive the word of God with Joy like Jesus said but you put it into practice only in good situations. In fact you never had a true encounter with the Lord Jesus. You think you are born of God, but you never were. Maybe you were mistaken and you are still living in illusion. 

To know if you are this type of listener, identify yourself and  look at your attitudes. What is your reaction when temptation come? Is it that you fall again?

If so, today is the opportunity to change this situation. Search this true encounter with God and you will rise.
This is a personal experience.

God bless you, Thash

PARABLE OF THE SOWER- 1ST PART

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:  “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. (Luke 8: 4-5)

 This parable was announced by Jesus in order for his disciples to know about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Here the farmer is GOD through the one preaching, the seed is HIS WORD and the path (ground) is the HEART of the one listening. The heart of men of different types represent the four different kinds of ground (place) where the seed is sown. 

Jesus through this wanted to show us what were the results of sowing in these paths. What we must consider are three points:

• The seed is the same for everyone : It is the ground that varies
• The growth of the seed depends on the type of ground (place) ; the quality of the heart of the one listening
• There are different ways of receiving the word of God in our heart but only one pleases God and let us inherit his kingdom : The one bearing the fruits

So, good people. Let us consider the 1ST PLACE where the seed is sown.

1. "some fell along the path, it was trampled on, and the birds ate it" Luke 8:5

The seed fell along the path. This means that the that the ground was too hard for the seed to germinate, that's why it just fell onto it and was trampled on by passers.  It remains on the surface of the ground and become easy to be picked by hungry birds. This is why we often see birds fluttering around a farmer who is seeding. These birds are just waiting for the right time . Obviously, these seeds do not survive very long.

In luke 8:11 -12 Jesus said:
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

This type of listeners are characterized by a hardened heart. When the word is announced to them it is as if it passes through one ear and leave through the other.  The word flow on their lives withot penetrating. The heart of these men is as hard as the floor of a path so that the seed has no chance to germinate. The evil, like the birds come and easily pick away the word of God which never penetrated the heart of these people. They are the easiest prey to satan.

They may regularly attend church and hear the word of God, but this has no effect on their hearts. Certainly, they have acquired some knowledge of the Bible, but they do not understand. These kind of people do not seek to obey nor repent: but are here only to ask from God. They are willing to receive but not to give. Their attitude combining to that of the evil surely will never make the seed to germinate.

 For this people's heart has grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’Matthew 13:15

So, good people, let us analyse this first situation. If you have a heart like we just talked, today maybe is the last opportunity for you to change it. And im sure you gonna be the one victorious and at the end inheriting the Kingdom of God.

God bless you, Thash